


Hug Vigilantes

by SBG



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Hugs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-26
Updated: 2014-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 20:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2361140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SBG/pseuds/SBG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny thinks it's weird when everyone starts hugging for no founded reason, but eventually he gets it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hug Vigilantes

**Author's Note:**

> A last minute ficlet for the [Hug-A-Thon](http://stevedannoslash.livejournal.com/1282926.html) over on LJ, and let it be known I wrote half of it while on muscle relaxants, sooo caveat emptor or whatever. Not that there's any money exchanged for this. You know what I mean.

Danny should probably have seen it long before he did, given that he was a cop and all, but he hadn’t exactly been looking for evidence on this particular thing. He supposed cops were just as susceptible to not being able to see the forest for the trees as anyone, without the focus of a crime. He knew that from firsthand experience, having only put together the signs Rachel was asking him to leave as the door was hitting his ass on the way out. Twice. Anyway, since there was no kind of imminent danger or threat to state security or anything here, he was giving himself a free pass. 

The first inkling came on a rare day he was paired up with Kono. He’d dropped her off at autopsy to give Max a rolling start on his information dump while he parked the car. When he’d made it to Max’s mad corpse laboratory, he’d found them in a very weird embrace. Kono had practically molded herself around Max and Max … well, Max had been standing there stiff as a board with his arms down by his sides. It looked both comfortable and uncomfortable, but the fact Max hadn’t extricated himself seemed to indicate it had been welcomed on his part. At the time, Danny had backed around the door and waited for the private moment to pass. He liked to rib Max, but he wasn’t a total asshole. He’d noticed that Max seemed less quirky and more depressed in his delivery of his report, and figured he’d needed the hug. 

Danny knew what that was like; he wasn’t going to give any real grief to someone over it. 

After that, though, Danny noticed the hugs. None of the instances were obvious, none unfounded at first. Just … more contact than they’d previously engaged in as a team. A casual arm slung over a shoulder after a long day or a brief hug goodbye before a weekend morphed into a random, unannounced hug at odd intervals. 

This whole thing wasn’t too far out of the ordinary, really, Danny convinced himself. They were an affectionate bunch. Two amiable cousins imbued with the _aloha_ spirit since birth – probably before that, even, in the womb, a proud New Jersey native with a penchant for physical expression of emotions both good and bad, and a big lunk of a Navy SEAL who must have had to work extremely hard while on active duty to shelf those urges of his to touch and emote like no one else. If anything, it was less of a happenstance and more of an inevitability that they’d end up being one great, big, huggy family. 

There was also the fact that as a group, they kind of cornered the market on life going to shit, prompting a greater and more frequent need for comfort. If that were always true, he wasn’t sure ever would have noticed – a post trauma hug was pretty reasonable. However, he’d discovered it was more than that. Case in point, his current situation of being the middle part of a Chin and Kono sandwich. It wasn’t a bad place to be, all things considered; neither of them was hard on the eyes. He should be so lucky, and usually he wouldn’t object. 

“Uh, guys,” Danny said. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the gratitude, but I’ve sprung for lunch about a hundred times before.”

They hugged him tighter. Yeah, so, this was odd even for them.

H50H50H50

Along with being affectionate, every member of Five-0 was also competitive. None nearly as much as their fearless leader, who had to top everyone all the time at everything or injure himself trying. Danny was convinced that at least half of the team was manufacturing excuses to hug, not to be outdone by anyone else. Those two people were Steve and Kono, competent law professionals turned hug vigilantes, with Chin and him usually being the ones to bear the fruits of their labors. For example, it seemed fairly ridiculous to him that Chin would need a congratulatory hug for putting data up on the thingies like he always did. Now, if he had accomplished that, then that would be a different story. Yet Kono had hugged Chin like he’d won the Nobel Peace Prize and not ten minutes after that, he himself was on the receiving end of a Steve-hug for being the first to mention an obvious connection between victim and criminal.

The behavior was bizarre, honestly, but no less bizarre was that no one had uttered a peep about it except for him that one time with the sandwich. At that point, Danny had been half convinced it was all some practical joke against him, what with Chin actively participating. It wasn’t until he’d noticed the one-upmanship pattern between Kono and Steve that he put that theory on hold. Still, having Chin say something would at least lend some sort of credence to the strangeness. But, no. No one mentioned a thing and, save for a few exchanged looks here and there between the other three that Danny couldn’t quite decipher or even say for sure had taken place, the general vibe he got was that this was all usual and customary. 

“Thanks, brahs,” Chin said as Kamekona and Flipper delivered their drinks. He slid out from the picnic table to help them, then grabbed Flipper in a brief hug. The real deal he saved for Kamekona. “You guys are da kine.”

Annnnd there was Chin, debunking another theory. It was also the perfect opportunity to mention that the touchy-feeling thing was getting out of control, except he was distracted by how amusing it was to watch Chin try to wrap his arms around Kamekona. He was practically miniaturized by comparison to the big guy. Instead of commenting about the hug, Danny pulled out his phone and tried to get the camera to work. He fumbled a bit, until an arm was slung across his shoulders, a brief squeeze and then it loosened, shifted as Steve’s hand rested on the back of his neck. He blinked a few times, glanced at his partner, who wasn’t looking at him, all casual touching. 

The thing of it was, somehow every time Danny considered mentioning out loud something about the upswing in hugs and how it might be on the overkill side, he’d get broadsided by another one himself. Really, while he was the resident curmudgeon and knew it, Danny was not anti-affection. He appreciated varied and sundry forms of expressing it and he’d found himself touching a bit more as well. Besides, he’d also noticed some side effects to the random acts of embracing – as a team they were even more in sync, or it seemed that way to him. They’d always had a certain simpatico, each of their strengths filling in gaps for others’ weaknesses. Another of the major effects was everyone seemed happier because of the hugfest. 

He was not gonna be the one to rain on the happy parade, not this time.

H50H50H50

Like he’d said, as a team, theirs was an existence predicated on danger and at their helm, a magnet for it. As the back up to a such a magnet, he stood a good chance of being caught in the crossfire. Danny stared at the sky, unclear about how he’d ended up flat on his back. As far as he could tell, he was numb, felt no pain, which he supposed was a good sign. He struggled to remember any clue which might explain to him why he was lying there, or why his deadened limbs seemed disinclined to move the way instinct wanted them to. Like he’d been running. He might have been for all he knew.

“Danny.” Steve’s voice was muffled and distorted, but Danny knew it like he knew the back of his own hand. “Danny!”

So this was Steve’s fault. Danny couldn’t quite see the pieces to the puzzle to know what the picture would ultimately reveal, and it didn’t matter. It really didn’t matter anymore, the ways Steve could get them into trouble or the ways Danny could manufacture to blame him even when it wasn’t anyone’s fault at all. The second part of that was just part of their thing. Danny blinked sluggishly, wanted to turn toward his partner but he still couldn’t get anything to move even if he were able to discern where Steve was. 

Until Steve’s face blocked his view of that annoyingly perfect blue sky (it aggravated him that even Hawaii’s rainstorms came with beautiful rainbows). There was a thin streak of blood trailing down the side of Steve’s dirty mug, his hair was mussed and sweaty and those eyes. How a man who graduated the Naval Academy and grew up to be a badass Navy SEAL could let so much shine through his stupid eyes was beyond Danny most of the time. 

“Danny,” Steve said. “You with me here?”

Danny wasn’t _quite_ ready for verbal communication. He wasn’t even sure he was anywhere with anyone yet; maybe this was some surreal dream. He needed time to understand what had happened in order to formulate any words. They would come. Oh, they would. Words were one of the few things in life that never failed him. He thought he shook his head, and also thought that was progress. The way Steve’s face cracked ever so much to show stark fear made him think that maybe he should have nodded. 

“You’re okay. You’re gonna be fine. Jesus, Danny, what were you thinking?”

Sensation came back to him just in time to feel Steve’s hands pawing at him, patting every square inch and it wasn’t that it was a bad touch kind of situation. Except, actually, it probably was, given Steve was looking for injuries. Given that all Danny felt was a bit of residual numbness and hands invading his personal space, he was fairly sure he was okay. Still clueless about what was going on, but intact, in one confused piece.

“You could have been killed, do you know that?”

Steve remained grim above him, even as it became apparent to him that he was okay. He realized the odd numbness was fading, leaving in its place a bone-deep ache. He knew he hadn’t come out of this unscathed, and eventually it would all make the kind of miserable sense he’d come to expect out of his life. For the moment, though, he just wanted Steve to settle. 

“What the shit, McGarret?” Danny fumbled around a bit, got an elbow underneath him. He stilled the hand he could reach. “Hands, hands. Don’t gimme no lines and keep your hands to yourself.” 

Post-traumatic high, okay, adrenaline or something. Danny had no idea, really, where that had come from. For one infinitesimal moment, Steve stared at him like he had three heads.

“Shut up, you jackass,” Steve said, and barked out a laugh that was just shy of manic. 

Steve eased Danny upright gently until he was sitting, shaky and by now convinced he was going to be permanently confused. Suddenly, once he was sitting, it was like Steve folded into him. He couldn’t tell which of them was shaking and which was holding them up. He thought maybe it was a little bit of both, and he felt every ounce of relief pouring out of Steve. 

The hugging thing, it wasn’t always ridiculous.

H50H50H50

It was no real surprise to him that he became infected by the hug bug. If asked, he might slough it off as “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” just for appearances, but Danny had understood the power of the embrace long before it all began. He had come from a long line of huggers, and, more importantly, he was a father. There was nothing in the world like having Grace throw her arms around him and squeeze, a feeling he had often thought would make billions if it could be bottled and sold. Since he was predisposed to touching anyway, the oddness of it all faded quickly and he himself slipped seamlessly into hugging right back.

Of course, every once in a while he’d still furrow his eyebrows at the hugginess and Danny was a bit more discriminating in what was hug-worthy than his friends. There was no need to make up reasons to do it – hugs were better when they were organic. It was only natural, then, that he found himself gravitating toward Steve. They’d always been a bit in each other’s back pockets, but with the pseudo-competition between Steve and Kono resulting in even more contact time with Danny, that had simply … shifted to a more reciprocal kind of thing. Instead of just accepting Steve’s hugs, first Danny switched it up by returning those randomly-inspired blitz attacks, then worked his way up to initiating them himself.

The brilliant, goofy smiles Steve gave him as a result might have melted his knees a little bit, from time to time. Steve might sometimes be the most aggravating human being on the planet to Danny, but at the center of that was something so charming he couldn’t deny it. He should know better, he really should, but with Steve his defenses had always had the appearances of being raised, but in reality they were non-existent. Somehow or another, Steve had become the second most stable thing in his life. Steve was totally unstable about that stability, yet even that didn’t diminish the steadfastness of his friendship. It was a confusing, conflicting mess, their partnership, but it worked. 

“So, you know that thing you said Grace wanted for her birthday but that you can’t find anywhere?” Steve said as he barged into Danny’s office. 

“That thing even Rachel and Stan can’t find? The thing their copious amounts of money can’t magically produce?” Danny waved his hands about, indicating that, yes, duh, he hadn’t had any luck. “You mean that thing?”

Steve had his hands behind his back. He grinned at Danny, cheeky as hell. Freaking _cute_ in a way that should really either be impossible or outlawed. Danny’s heart started beating. He knew that expression. That was Steve’s “I worked a miracle” look.

“You didn’t.”

“Of course I did,” Steve said, grin turning into one of those thousand-watt beams of his. Steve drew his hands out from behind his back, and there it was – the one thing Grace wanted. He shrugged, the dismissive gesture a total contrast to the knowing smile that he’d pulled off something spectacular, and at no small cost. Anyone who knew Steve knew he was reluctant to part with his money. “It’s Grace.”

“Steve,” Danny said. He was on his feet and rounding the desk without even thinking about it. He took what Steve held out, set it gently on his desk. 

This, now this was worth a hug. Danny spread his arms wide and curled his fingers in invitation. There was no hesitation on Steve’s part, he stepped right into Danny’s arms, his own snaking around Danny’s back. Danny felt Steve shift, his right hand coming up to rest on the nape of Danny’s neck. He’d noticed that, he thought dizzily, the way Steve gravitated there, as if…

“You know it’s gonna take me a while to pay you back for this, you goof,” Danny said.

Steve turned his face into Danny’s neck, his breath warm as he whispered, “This is more than enough, Danno.”

H50H50H50

The first step was admitting there was a problem, and Danny was so there. He had been there for a while and his was a very big problem – a six-foot, handsome, annoying problem and the worst part of it was that it was self-inflicted. He had walked right into his addiction, literally with his arms open. He’d gone from an almost begrudging participant to needing to have Steve wrapped around him like a warm, solid blanket.

This, too, should never have sneaked up on him, but it didn’t occur to him until one day he looked up to see Steve walk into HQ, head right for the tech table and Kono, draping his arm around her shoulder with easy familiarity. A vibrant shot of what he could only call envy had torn through him, and since then it was a constant feeling whenever Steve’s affection was aimed at anyone but himself. So, not only was he a terrible detective, but he was also the saddest sack on the planet. He hadn’t had that kind of reaction since Rachel. He knew what it was for him, knew what he wanted it to be for Steve, but he couldn’t be sure. He let it fester, afraid to do anything about it but bask in what he had now rather than embrace what he could have.

In his experience as a detective if not as anything else, the direct approach was often the best one to take. Eliminate the obvious, and the truth would be revealed. Danny wished it could be so easy. He paced the sidewalk for the umpteenth time, a total chickenshit. Thing of it was, this could go badly on many different levels. He wasn’t sure. There’d just been so much damn hugging lately. What was odd had become almost normal. Almost, because Danny still sometimes swore he caught sidelong glances exchanged between the other three members of the team which made him feel like he was missing something. 

He spun, glared toward Steve’s door again to find it open instead of closed, with that big ol’ problem leaning against the frame, arms crossed over his chest and a carefully blank look on his face. Danny halted in his tracks. 

“Uh, hi,” Danny said. He jammed his hands in his pockets and oh holy shit, had he regressed to his early twenties or what? 

“Danny,” Steve said evenly, “you’ve been out here for ten minutes. Do you need something?”

 _You_ was the unbidden answer Danny mentally came up with. Apparently something showed on his face, because Steve was in front of him between one blink to the next. Gone was the blankness. Without having to say it, Danny got his wish. Steve pulled him close, smelling of salt, sweat and life, and Danny clung right back.

“Finally,” Steve murmured. 

Danny tensed slightly, tried to make sense of that. The only thing he could come up with was that feeling he’d been out of the loop on a key point. There _had_ been something to those shared looks and … oh, that was too much.

“Oh, my God,” Danny said. He drew out of the hug, but kept his hands on Steve’s biceps. “Oh, my God. You freaking launched a hug campaign, with me as your target. You colluded with Kono to get me to, what, succummph…”

Steve might have pussyfooted around getting to this point, which Danny would one day get around to unpacking, but he was not fooling around with the kiss. Danny gripped Steve’s arms reflexively as the force of Steve coming at him made him take a step back. He didn’t go far, couldn’t, as Steve pulled him closer, mouth opening slightly. No thought, there’d been too much of that, Danny parted his lips. The silky softness of Steve’s tongue sliding against his had him aching with want. Steve’s hand came up to the nape of Danny’s neck, predictable already, and Danny smiled.

Steve broke the kiss, studied Danny’s face as if he were expecting terrible repercussions. His lips were red and slick, and his eyes held a hint of wild uncertainty that wasn’t him. 

“You always gotta go that one step further, don’t you?” Danny asked, breathless. 

With one of those smiles Danny loved so much plastered across his face, Steve dragged Danny into the house, where they took the next few steps together.


End file.
